Political Factors
by Flowered Voodoo Dolls
Summary: Politics are a bitch and a half to deal with.


Julian smiled as he slid into the seat across from Garak on his lunch break. "Good afternoon," he said, nodding in greeting.

Garak smiled back at him. "Good afternoon, doctor," he said. "How were your patients this morning?"

"Horrible," Julian said, taking Garak's hand, which was resting casually on the table. "You'd think people would learn to not disturb Kira when she's fighting for the huddled masses."

Garak raised his eyebrow ridge. "You mean they still do? I'd think after the first few deaths…"

"Amazingly enough, yes," Julian said. "I had to treat two inch-long gashes, several nasty bruises, and a splintered bone." Garak winced and he nodded. "So, what's new in the tailor business?"

"Almost nothing," Garak said. "I think you'll find, Julian, that once you've sewn one Belurese mating leotard, you've sewn them all."

"Belurese mating leotard?" Julian raised his eyebrows.

"It sounds interesting, I know," Garak said. "But trust me, they're frightfully dull." He squeezed Julian's hand slightly and leaned in, lowering his voice. "To sew, anyway," he said. "But I've heard that during the mating act itself…" he trailed off as a young ensign came up to them.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, doctor Bashir," she said, barely glancing at Garak, "but Commander Sisko wants to see you and your…companion…immediately." She stared disapprovingly at their entwined hands.

Julian nodded. "All right," he said, tightening his grip on Garak's hand. "We'll be there in a moment."

She nodded and walked away, leaving the two alone. Garak looked at Julian and said, "You know what he wants to talk about, don't you?"

Julian nodded. "Yes, I know. This. Us." He looked at Garak. "Well, it had to happen sometime," he said. He sighed and stood up. "All right. Are you ready?"

Garak nodded and stood. Together, they walked to the command station, hand in hand. Before going in, Julian turned to Garak and kissed him. "We'll be fine," he said, smiling encouragingly. "Sisko will understand." Garak smiled hopefully, and they walked into the command station with bated breath.

Ben Sisko, standing at the helm, turned and smiled at their entrance. "Julian, Garak," he said, walking to greet them. "Let's go into my office, shall we?" Julian smiled awkwardly and nodded, and he and Garak walked into Ben's office. "Please, take a seat," Ben said, motioning to the two chairs in front of his desk. They sat, and Ben sat at his desk across from them. "I assume you know why I've called you both here," he said.

Julian and Garak both nodded. When Ben didn't continue, Julian said, "To talk about…us."

Ben nodded. "Exactly."

Garak spoke up. "If you don't mind, Commander Sisko," he said, "I'd like to know which part, exactly, of our relationship you wish to discuss."

"Could you please clarify?" Ben leaned forward slightly.

"I think what Garak is asking is whether you object to the…homosexual part –" Julian began.

"Or the interspecies part, yes," Garak said. "I know that the political relations between the Federation and Cardassia have been…turbulent, of late," he said. "But I'm curious about the policies on same-sex relations on the base."

Ben cleared his throat. "The Federation has no problem with same-sex relationships," he said. "However, we are concerned about the political factors of your relationship." He sighed. "Do you understand what I mean?"

Garak nodded, his stomach sinking. "Yes, Commander, I do," he said. "It's because I'm Cardassian."

"Well…yes. Mostly." Ben sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you. We've received complaints from a lot of Bajorans about your relationship, and the Federation is worried about how this reflects on it."

Julian frowned. "Commander, if you're trying to tell us to break up –"

"Not at all," Ben said quickly. "I, personally, don't believe that people should politicize relationships." He sighed and looked down. "However, your relationship has received a lot of pressure recently."

Garak felt his stomach twist in apprehension and fear. "Well, what's going to happen?" He was horrified that he and Julian might be forced to break up.

Ben sighed. "Look, I'm very sorry about this," he said. "But the Federation has asked that you don't act like you're in a relationship with each other in public."

Julian blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm very sorry," Ben repeated. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't censor you like this." He sighed. "But I'm afraid that until the political situation has…calmed slightly, you'll need to act as if you aren't in a relationship."

Julian nodded, his mouth going numb. He couldn't imagine not walking to the medical ward with Garak, holding hands and talking. "We'll have to?"

Ben nodded. "Do you think that you can manage that?"

Garak, who had been staring blankly at the carpet, finally spoke. "I suppose we'll have to," he said. He looked up. "But we won't need to completely end our relationship?"

Ben shook his head. "Whatever happens in your personal quarters isn't ours to dictate," he said.

Julian smiled slightly. "All right," he said. "Is that everything?" Ben nodded and he stood up. Garak stood too, and Julian took his hand and squeezed it. The two embraced. "It's all right," Julian whispered. "We'll get through this."

Garak smiled and they walked back into the command station, staying at least a foot apart. Before they went back to work, they snuck a kiss in the corner, and Julian felt horrible the rest of the day.

Finally, when he left the medical ward, he was glad to find Garak waiting in his personal quarters. He practically threw himself at him, embracing his lover. "I missed you," Julian whispered.

Garak smiled and kissed Julian. When he finally pulled away, he brushed a lock of hair from Julian's forehead. "I missed you too," he said. "I don't know how we're going to go through that every day."

Julian smiled back. "We're going to need to do some very creative scheduling," he said. He noticed a small handful of fabric resting on one of his chairs. "Now what would that be?"

Garak raised his eyebrow ridge. "Well," he said, smiling wickedly. "I never got to finish explaining what a Belurese mating leotard was."


End file.
